Sectional doors made from polymer composites and a method for manufacturing same

ABSTRACT

A sectional door includes a plurality of panels. Each panel can include two or more plies which can be made of thermally compatible material. A panel of such sectional door includes an outer ply including a thermoplastic material and a sash frame including a thermoplastic material. The outer ply forms an outer face of the door. The sash frame is secured to the outer ply. The outer ply and the sash frame include thermoplastic materials which have substantially the same rate of thermal expansion. A desired design can be formed in the outer face of the door.

This application claims priority from provisional application Ser. No.60/962,226 dated Jul. 27, 2007, the subject matter of which isincorporated by reference hereinto in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to doors and other closures. It findsparticular application with regard to composite sectional doors, such asare used for garages, and methods for manufacturing such doors. However,it is to be appreciated that the present disclosure will have wideapplication for a variety of closures.

Garage doors are known to be made from various materials, includingwood, steel, aluminum, vinyl, fiberglass composites, MFD Board (MediumFiber Density), recycled wood fiber, and lignocellulose material such asis described in U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0272253 dated Dec. 7, 2006,among others. The foregoing materials have been the materials of choicefor the production of garage doors based on material availability andthe ability to use these materials to make various types of garage andother doors in various designs.

Garage doors formed from wood suffer many drawbacks. Wood can be heavyand is costly, and over time wood is susceptible to degradation anddamage from weathering and from insects. An advantage of wood doors,however, is that they are easily made with aesthetically pleasingdesigns. In this regard, they can be stained or painted in either singlecolors or multiple colors, they can have designs worked into the wood oradded over top of the wood. Moreover, wood doors are plentiful andeasily available. As was stated above, however, wood doors do suffer thedrawbacks of being very heavy, of being constructed from costlymaterials, and of being susceptible to damage from weather, boringinsects, and mold and mildew. In addition, wood doors requiremaintenance on a regular basis in order to maintain an aestheticallypleasing exterior.

Given these drawbacks, wood doors in a garage setting, for example, havebeen replaced by steel and aluminum doors in some instances. These doorscan be constructed to be much lighter and easier to manipulate, and arenot susceptible in general to rotting, insect infestation, and mold andmildew damage. However, steel and aluminum doors are not generallythought to be aesthetically pleasing in and of themselves. Therefore, ifa decorative surface is desired, such doors require an overlay of amaterial which may include some type of aesthetic design. Further,painting and staining steel or aluminum can be difficult, and suchpainted doors may require special maintenance. If a design on a metaldoor is desired, manufacturing such a door requires large, heavy andvery costly equipment to form a design on the exterior face of the door.Such designs can be stamped on the door by means of a hydraulic pressand a die to emboss or deboss a design or pattern. Every time adifferent design is needed, however, the stamping die has to be changed,which can be expensive and labor intensive.

A serious problem with metal doors is that they provide no insulationfor the space they enclose. Thus, a thermal break design has beendeveloped for such doors. In some doors, the two metal panels formingthe exterior and interior surfaces of the door are separated by a foamcore to provide better insulation. It is also known to construct garagedoors from multi-layered materials wherein the layers are laminated orotherwise affixed to a frame. Another problem with steel and aluminum isthe ease with which they can be dented or damaged. For these reasons,steel and aluminum doors often have overlays created from vinyl,plastic, fiberglass, or a very thin layer of pressboard or solid wood.The underlying door, in these instances, is generally formed by amanufacturing technique called “roll manufacturing” or is referred to asbeing “roll formed”.

A roll former is needed in order to shape the sides of a metal panel ofthe garage door in order to adapt the panels to each other. Lineargrooves normally are added to the exterior surface of the metal panel tostiffen the thin sheet metal, and at the same time give an aestheticlook to the door, instead of having a plain flat panel. Most garage doorpanels which are made from a solid and machinable material would havethe same type of surface texture, such as stucco wood grain or anotherpattern. But, this is not true with metal panels. There, a surfacedesign has to be added to the panel.

A problem with doors, whether they are made of metal or other material,such as vinyl or fiberglass, is that they require expensive dies andmolds, each time the surface design of the door is changed. When designsare changed, on most occasions, extensive labor is required to changethe dies and molds. Even so, the manufacturer is still limited to acertain number of designs or patterns.

A recent trend in garage doors has been to make them resemble the woodendoors which were manufactured a long time ago, such as carriage housetype doors or the like. Of course, wooden doors, both in the past andthose manufactured in accordance with today's processes, have a limitednumber of designs, such as a raised panel design, linear grooves,oriented horizontally or vertically, or a flush door with a lay on oroverlay to create a Tudor or carriage house look, or any other antiquetype of look. Such designs on garage doors can still be seen in someEuropean countries.

Many garage doors in the past were opened to the side via side mountedhinges. Others were one piece doors lifted with a spring mechanism. Morerecently, garage doors have been constructed from a series of horizontalpanels which are hinged together. This can be done using a pivotingbracket instead of conventional hinges. When the door is fully closed,the panels are aligned in a single plane. The panels separate at thejoints between individual panels so that the door may be raised to open.To this end, the door is mounted on rollers, fitted in roller guidesthat carry the door vertically up and then horizontally into theinterior space of a building. Such doors, termed sectional doors, areused for garages in residential buildings and have a variety of uses inindustrial and commercial settings as well.

Garage doors may be of a width sized for a single vehicle or of a widthfor multiple vehicles. In those instances where the garage door width isintended for more than a single vehicle, the garage door may be formedfrom a single, extended horizontal panel spanning the entire width ofthe opening, or from several horizontal panels fitted end-to-end to spanthe horizontal width of the opening.

Regardless of the makeup of the door itself, it is common for theexterior surface of the panels of the door to take on variousappearances, such as smooth, embossed, textured, ribbed, raised panel,inset panel, and many other designs, including carriage house designs.Designs may be molded or stamped into the panels. But, this can becostly, depending on the underlying material used. More often, anoverlay carrying the design is adhered to the door panel, as a separatepiece or structure.

The drawbacks to each of the foregoing overlap the various producttypes, and no option currently available addresses all of the problemsof such sectional doors, including cost, weight, weathering, insulation,ease of construction, and ease of use. There exists a need for asectional door product that can be manufactured in a continuous lineprocess, wherein the door panels can have an unlimited variety ofdesigns or patterns formed on the outer surface of the panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, there is provided a panel for a sectional door. Thepanel comprises an outer ply, comprising an extruded thermoplasticmaterial, forming an outer face of the door and a sash frame comprisinga thermoplastic material. A means is provided for securing a sash frameto the outer ply. The outer ply and the sash frame comprisethermoplastic materials which have substantially the same rate ofthermal expansion. A design can be formed in or provided on the outersurface of the outer ply.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a panelfor a sectional door is provided. The method comprises providing anouter ply of an extruded thermoplastic material and a sash frame of thesame thermoplastic material. The sash frame is secured to the outer ply.A desired design is formed in an outer surface of the outer ply.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exterior face of a sectional door,such as a garage door, according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged rear elevational view of a single panel of thedoor of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the single doorpanel of FIG. 2 made of an extruded thermoplastic material, andincluding a sash frame.

FIGS. 4A-4D are side elevational views of garage door panelsillustrating various panel interlock configurations.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a sash frame for a door panel,with no exterior ply according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of an external ply of the door panelaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a ribbed panel according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a raised panel according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of a carriage house type panel designaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of a vertical ribbed panel accordingto another design of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a side cross sectional view of a door panel according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a side cross sectional view of another door panel accordingto another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a top plan view in cross section of a portion of a panelaccording to still another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a reduced perspective view of the panel of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of a door according to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 16 is a front elevational view of another door according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of a manufacturing process for a door panelaccording to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The subject disclosure relates to the use of an extruded thermoplasticmaterial, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or a PVC composite as thematerial for the construction of a closure, such as a sectional garagedoor. Use of a PVC material provides advantages with regard to suchfeatures as: exterior design; weight of the door; durability with regardto weather; resistance to mold and mildew, boring insects and rust/rot;denting; maintenance; and a custom finish capability in order to produceaesthetically pleasing sectional doors, such as garage doors. Ifdesired, the entire sectional door, other than the hinges, can be madefrom the chosen extruded thermoplastic material.

Sheets of cellular PVC material are available worldwide and known foruse on molding trims, siding, fascia and the like. Such material is notsolid but has a core made of fine cells similar to weather foam but withsmooth, solid exterior surfaces. It is termed a cellular PVC materialand is known in the art. Extruded cellular PVC sheets are available fromseveral manufacturers and are available under different trade names andtrademarks, such as Trim Board, DuraBoard and the like. Another suchmaterial is available under the Versatex brand name from WolfpacTechnologies of Leetsdale, Pa. These sheets are available in variousthicknesses, such as ¼ inch, ⅜ inch, ½ inch, ⅝ inch, ¾ inch and 1 inch(0.6315, 0.953, 1.27, 1.59, 1.91 and 2.54 cm). They are available inlengths up to a maximum of 20 feet (6.1 m) long. Normally, these sheetsare made in 4 foot (1.22 m) widths and are provided with a smooth plainsurface or with a wood grained texture.

Although cellular PVC sheets are mainly available in a light color,color can be impregnated in the PVC material in order to eliminatefinish painting of the panel. On the other hand, the panels can bepainted to any desired light and medium colors using a vinyl-typeadherent paint. The panels can also be painted with a urethane type ofprocess paint with UV inhibitor, which would protect the surface of thepanel from the rays of the sun.

Polyvinyl chloride as a garage door construction material provides manyadvantages. Unlike garage doors constructed partially or wholly fromwood, thermoplastic garage doors are not subject to rotting and resistmildew and fungus growth. In addition, the PVC material as describedherein has an excellent “R” value, which is the insulation value of thedoor. Also, the PVC material exhibits superior surface hardness, makingit more resistant to denting and other surface degradation.

Another advantage of using PVC material for the sectional door disclosedherein is that the door can be produced in various colors. If painted,the PVC composite door retains the painted coating without requiringmaintenance as often as other known garage door materials, i.e., steel,wood or aluminum, for example. In one known method of manufacture, thePVC material can be extruded.

TABLE 1 Cellular Ponderosa ASTM Test Description Unit PVC Pine ASTMD-2395 Density g/cc 0.62 0.39 ASTM D-2250 Shore D Surface Hardness 0.710.53 ASTM D-1761 Screw Holding lb. 400 363 ASTM D-1761 Nail Holding lb.0.61 0.83 ASTM D-638 Tensile Strength psi. 2984 4940 ASTM D-570 WaterAbsorption % 0.4 74.6 ASTM D-662 Smoke 18.08 106.0 ASTM D-648 HeatDeflection Temperature F. 150 N/A ASTM D-4726 Dimensional Stability %1.7 N/A ASTM D-696 Coefficient of Thermal in/in-F. 0.0000245 0.000021Expansion ASTM D-518 Thermal Conductivity BTU 0.420 1.20 UL E-84 TunnelTest (Fire Rating) 14.31 99.0 (red oak)

Table 1 above provides a comparison of one type of extruded cellular PVCmaterial, which can be used for the sectional door panels disclosedherein, to a conventional wood panel material. Extruded cellular PVCmaterial from other manufacturers would likely have somewhat differentproperties. Also, other types of wood, such as fir or cedar will likelyhave different properties than the pine described above. Nevertheless,it can be seen that the extruded cellular PVC material has advantageousproperties when compared to wood.

Extended cellular PVC material can be machined in the same way as wood,using the same equipment. It is important to note that cellular PVCprovides excellent weather resistance, does not absorb moisture, doesnot split or crack and is resistant to insect damage. Moreover, it doesnot rot.

Cellular PVC sheets are flexible due to the nature of the material. Assuch, use of this material for door panels requires lateralreinforcement to stiffen the sheet and to provide rigidity to thestructure of the panel. For panels where the sheet is 1 inch thick orthinner, the sheet can, in one embodiment, be glued onto a sash frame.For example, a common size of minimum 8 foot wide garage door made ofPVC sheet material and held from each end horizontally will deflect orbow a minimum of 3 inches (7.62 cm). Without a reinforcement element,such as a metal beam (for example steel or aluminum or the like), itwould be impossible to construct such a garage door from extendedcellular PVC sheet material. It is also known that the cellular PVCmaterial can be reinforced with a variety of reinforcing materials, suchas, e.g., wood materials or fibers, such as carbon or glass fibers orthe like. For sake of economy, wood material are preferred. A woodcomposite extruded cellular PVC material is sold under the trademarkPuraBoard—PW by South Asia Plastics Group of Scarborough, Ontario,Canada. Perhaps a narrow door made of a wood composite PVC materialwould not need any type of metal reinforcing element. Nevertheless, forwider doors used in industrial settings, perhaps even a wood materialreinforced extruded cellular PVC door would need one or more metalreinforcing elements. It should be appreciated that since the woodmaterial is encapsulated by the thermoplastic material, such a doorwould not be subject to environmental degradation as with conventionalwood doors.

While the sectional doors illustrated herein are described withreference to use for personal dwellings, they may also be used for otherapplications, such as warehouses, storage facilities, commercialgarages, and the like. They can also be used for sectional doors ontrucks or other commercial vehicles. In such environments,characteristics with regard to fire rating, strength, hardness, and thelike become even more important. In addition, when intended forcommercial use, a company logo or other indicia may be engraved directlyinto a door formed according to the instant disclosure.

With reference to the Figures, FIG. 1 shows a sectional door constructedfrom the PVC material referred to herein. In FIG. 1, sectional door 10which could be a garage door is constructed from four (4) horizontalpanels 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, each constructed from a cellular PVCmaterial (whether reinforced or not). Of course, any number of panelscould be employed as may be required for a particular application. Eachof panels 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d can be made of multiple PVC plies thatare glued to form a single piece structure. The cellular PVC materialcan be glued to itself by means of a PVC cement, plumbing pipe glue orthe like conventional adhesive which may have a fast curing time. PVCmaterial contracts and expands a fair amount. However, when the entirepanel is made of plies of PVC material, such contraction and expansionwill be consistent. On the other hand, if the PVC material is onlyemployed for the purpose of providing the outer covering for the doorpanel, a sheet of ¼ inch (0.635 cm) thickness at a minimum can beadhered or glued to an underlying substrate. While a door panel maycomprise a single, 1 inch (2.54 cm) thick, ply of PVC material, this isnot preferred as the door would then be too heavy. The whole door mayalso require framing.

With respect to FIG. 2, a rear side of panel 12 a is shown. The samestructure can be used for all panels of the door. However, the exteriorappearance of the panels may be varied along the height or width of thedoor as may be desired. With reference now also to FIG. 3, the panel 12a can include a PVC sheet, ply or “skin” 13 forming the outer surface ofthe door, which would exhibit a width in keeping with the size of theopening for the garage door, and would have a thickness, at certainlocations, of about a minimum of one to two inches (1″-2″) (2.54-5.08cm), but may be thicker depending on the use. The skin 13 can comprisetwo or more plies of material. Such plies are preferably thermallycompatible so they do not delaminate upon changes in temperature. Forthe sake of convenience, it will be referred to herein as a “ply”, evenif it includes more than one ply of material. An outer ply of the doorpanel can be one-quarter to three-eighths inch (¼″-⅜″) thick(0.635-0.953 cm), while the inner reinforcing member or beam or rail canbe on the order of about one inch (1″) thick (2.54 cm) or thicker. Thesetwo elements can be secured together via a conventional PVC adhesive.The height of each panel is also variable and depends upon the number ofpanels that will be included in a door, i.e., two, three, four, or more.As was stated hereinabove, however, each panel can have a substantiallysimilar construction.

With reference again to FIG. 2, there are shown horizontal narrow rails14, 14′ which are placed on the upper and lower perimeters of one sideof the panel 12 a for reinforcement. The rails 14, 14′ can be formed ofthe same PVC material as the skin 13 or from a similar material so thatthere are no thermal mismatch problems. For example, the rails 14, 14′can comprise the composite PVC material discussed above. In addition,vertical rails, sometimes termed stiles, 16, 16′ are placed on eitherside edge of the panel on the same side as the horizontal rails 14, 14′also for reinforcement. The horizontal rails 14, 14′ and vertical rails16, 16′ can contact each other and can be secured together. Optionally,one or more vertical reinforcement beams or rails 18 may be includedanywhere along the horizontal length of the panel, between the rails 16and 16′ and spanning the height of the panel from top rail 14 to bottomrail 14′. It is only the rails 14-18 that are about one inch (1″) (2.54cm) or so or thicker, as shown in FIG. 3. The several rails can besecured together by a conventional PVC adhesive and can form a sashframe 11 in the embodiment illustrated. Of course, other embodiments arealso possible. The outer ply 13 forming the exterior face of the doorcan, as mentioned, be only one quarter to three-eighths inches (¼″-⅜″)thick (0.635-0.953 cm).

In one embodiment, the several rails are glued and mounted to the innersurface of the ply 13 in FIG. 3. The purpose of the rails is to framethe panel and provide support therefor. Other means of fastening therails 14-18 to the outer ply 13 can be used, such as mechanicalfasteners, including corrugated staples, screws, rivets, bolts or thelike. It should be appreciated that the entire door panel 12 a can be onthe order of about two inches (2″) (5.08 cm) thick at the locations ofthe rails 14-18.

As mentioned, the rails may be adhered to the PVC ply 13 using any typeof known fastening device, including but not limited to drywall screws,nails designed for trim application, or other fasteners. However, onepreferred method of adhering the rails to the panels is via the use ofan adhesive. The adhesive may be, for example, a polyvinyl acetate glueor a hot melt glue, among others. Commercially available adhesives thatare suitable for use to adhere the rails to the PVC panels include knownPVC cements or other commercially available suitable adhesives. Use ofan adhesive has the practical effect of rendering the one or more pliesof the PVC skin 13 and the additional panel layers formed by the severalrails 14-18 as a one piece structure. A layer of adhesive 29 isillustrated in FIG. 3 located between vertical rail or stile 16 andbottom rail 14′. A suitable adhesive can cure very quickly and bond sotightly that delamination is all but impossible. As was stated, althoughmechanical fasteners such as nails or screws may be used, the same arelikely unnecessary when using an adhesive of the type disclosed hereinto connect the several sections of thermoplastic material disclosedherein together to form the panels of the door.

In construction, the thickness of each of the two or more plies of eachpanel may be varied according to need. For example, the skin 13 may beas thin as one-quarter (¼) inch (0.635 cm) or as thick as an inch (2.54cm) or more. On the inside face of the skin or outer ply, horizontal andvertical rails, which can be of the same material as the panels, can beadhesively applied to frame and reinforce the panel. These rails may beof any thickness desired, for example about 1 to 2 inches (2.54-5.08 cm)thick. The overall thickness of a panel 12 a, then, including thethickness of the rail and the several plies of the skin may be variedand achieved using different thicknesses of plies and rails withoutlimitation. For example, three or more plies can be employed to form aparticularly strong door panel for larger width garage openings. Thus,the overall thickness of the door panel may be thicker than two inches(2″) (5.08 cm), in the area of the reinforcing rails.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the top rail 14and bottom rail 14′ are provided, respectively, with a longitudinallyextending protrusion 20 and indentation 22. These features enableadjacent panels to interlock with each other to give the sectional dooradditional stiffness. In one embodiment, one or more metal reinforcingelements, such as variously shaped beams 24 and 26, can be employed tofurther stiffen the panel 12 a. Each of these can be secured to one ormore of the rails 14-18 via suitable fasteners 28 as shown in FIG. 3.The several rails 14-18 of the sash frame 11 also serve as supports towhich conventional hinges (not shown) can be fastened in order to linkthe several door panels 12 a-12 d together. This can be done usingconventional lag screws or the like. These screws can be mounteddirectly into the PVC material of the rails without cracking orsplitting the rails. The several rails 14-18 also provide surfaces formounting the hinges of the door (not illustrated) as well as the rollerbrackets (not illustrated) which allow the door to slide on suitabletracks.

One method for constructing the door illustrated in FIG. 3 is to providethe outer ply 13 and secure to it the sash frame 11. However, the centerreinforcing beam 18 can be applied after securing the metal reinforcingmembers 24 in place on the beams 14 and 14′ and before mounting thecenter metal reinforcing element 26 in place. To this end, the upper andlower reinforcing elements or members 24 can be provided with cutouts toaccommodate the beam 18 and allow it to be adhesively secured to thebackside of the ply 13. Such beam 18 may not be necessary on narrowerwidth doors.

Moreover, it should be appreciated that the respective reinforcingelements 24 and 26 include elongated apertures 25. Such apertures areadvantageous because they allow relative movement between the sash frame11 and the reinforcing members 24 and 26. Because these are made ofdifferent materials, they have different thermal expansion andcontraction rates. As mentioned, the reinforcing members 24 and 26 canbe made of steel or aluminum or the like metal. Thus they must beattached or fastened in such a way to the sash frame 11 as to allow amovement of the reinforcing members and the sash frame in relation toeach other, due to contraction and expansion of the PVC material of thesash frame in relation to the metallic material of the reinforcingmembers.

As with other styles of garage doors, the PVC panels disclosed hereindisplay a weathering joint feature so that in the fully closed or fullyopened position, the door appears to be one sheet of material. FIGS.4A-4D show different types of joint structures that can be used toachieve this purpose. However, the illustrated structures are in no wayintended to limit the various known configurations that could be used.FIG. 4A shows a structure known as a shiplap configuration, FIG. 4B is acommon tongue-in-groove configuration, FIG. 4C is a finger protectionconfiguration, and FIG. 4D is another basic tongue-in-grooveconfiguration. As is apparent from FIG. 4A, two or more plies ofmaterial 30, 32, 34 can be employed to form a panel 36 of the door. FIG.4C shows two plies 30″ and 32″. Alternatively, a single ply may sufficefor the door panel in some applications.

In each of FIGS. 4A-4D a top portion of the panel 37, 37′, etc. is theportion that would be found on the upper horizontal surface of thesectional door panel, for example 14 in FIG. 2. This portion wouldengage with the adjacent portion 38, 38′ etc. located on the lowerhorizontal surface of the sectional door panel just above this panel,for example, in FIG. 1, panels 12 a and 12 b. As two vertically adjacentpanels are brought together and the lower portion of one panel contactsthe upper portion of the adjacent panel, the weathering joint featurewould be engaged as at 20 and 22 in FIG. 3. A variety of known joints isshown in FIGS. 4A-4D.

FIG. 5 illustrates the sash frame 11 by itself. FIG. 6 illustrates theouter, skin, cover or face ply 13 by itself. As mentioned in connectionwith FIG. 4A, the skin 13 can include more than one ply of material. Forexample, the cover or skin 13 can be insulated with any suitableinsulation material placed between the sash 11 and the panel 13. Aportion of a layer or ply of one suitable known insulation material isidentified by the numeral 27 in FIG. 6. Such insulation can be appliedat the factory. Alternatively, it can be added at a later date in thefield on an installed door. The insulation material should be chosen tohave a rate of thermal expansion similar to that of the panel 13 andsash 11 to forestall delamination. The panel can also be provided withan inside skin 31 (FIG. 5) which can be as thin as craft paper or can bea layer of a thin vinyl sheeting attached or glued to the surface of therails 14-18 comprising the sash frame 11.

Each panel may be configured to display a desired exterior design. Forexample, with reference to FIGS. 7-10, available sectional door paneldesigns popular in the garage door industry include, but are certainlynot limited to, a horizontal ribbed panel 41 (FIG. 7), or a raised panel42 (FIG. 8). Other panel designs include a carriage door design 43 (FIG.9) and a vertical ribbed design 44 (FIG. 10). Also, textured, embossed,or debossed designs may be easily produced according to the presentdisclosure.

As noted above, with other garage door materials, creating these designsin the panel surface may require the use of costly, complicated, andheavy machinery, such as roll formers, hydraulic presses and dieformers. Alternatively, overlays may be made using these techniques andthen applied to the door surface. Often, however, such overlays are madefrom a different material than the door itself, creating an opportunityfor thermal mismatch of the door materials, which can to causedelamination. The present disclosure pertains to a door in which thecomponents of the panels can be formed from a single type of material(other than the reinforcing members and the hardware of the door),thereby eliminating any thermal mismatch issues. As mentioned, anythermal mismatch between the material of the reinforcing members 24 and26 and the sash 11 can be accommodated via the slotted openings 25 shownin FIG. 3.

With reference now to FIG. 11, another door according to the presentdisclosure can include two adjacent panels 50 a and 50 b, each having anouter layer or ply 52, 52′ and one or more reinforcing members, beams orrails, which can extend horizontally, such as 54, 54′. These can beconnected to the ply 52 via an adhesive layer (not shown). Mounted tothe rails can be suitable beam or channel-like reinforcing members 56,56′ made of a metallic material. Also shown is a lower edge rail 57secured to the upper outer panel 52 and an upper edge rail 58 secured tothe lower outer panel 52′. These can be made of metal. Connecting thetwo panels 50 a and 50 b of the sectional door is a suitable hinge 60.Also provided are respective metallic panel edge reinforcing members 61and 62. Securing both the hinge and the metallic reinforcing members tothe respective reinforcing rails 57, 58 of the sash of each door panelare suitable conventional fasteners 64.

Also, there can be provided between the panels 50 a and 50 b a weatherresistant joint 66, including a rubber seal 68 in the joint. Such sealsare known in the art. As mentioned, the joint can be a tongue in groovejoint or any other known type of joint. The thickness of the outer ply52, 52′ can be on the order of ½ to 1 inch (1.27-2.54 cm), for example,⅝ of an inch (1.59 cm). A slot 70 can be provided in the ply in order toaccommodate a flange 72 of the respective reinforcing member 61 and 62.Such reinforcing members can be roll formed to adopt the shape of thepanel 50 a, 50 b. The slot 70 can be cut at a location on the edge ofthe ply closer to the inside surface of the outer ply 52, 52′, but withenough material (for example, ⅛ of an inch (0.32 cm) thick) allowing theexterior of the outer ply with the other side of the cut being a minimumof ⅜ of an inch (0.95 cm) thick. This thickness becomes important whenvertical grooves (such as illustrated in FIG. 10) are required so thatthe groove doesn't become routed into the slot 70. The purpose forattaching the reinforcing member 61 to panel 52 (or element 62 to panel52′) is to allow the panel to expand and contract freely, laterally,relative to the lengths of the reinforcing members. The metal centerreinforcing rail member 56 can have a reverse C-shaped configuration,the flanges 74 of which will be accommodated in slots 76 defined in thecenter rail or block of thermoplastic 54 that would be adhesivelysecured to the inside surface of the ply 50. When the thermoplastic ply52 and the center rail 54 expand and contract, the PVC material of thecenter rail will slide within the C-channel of the metal reinforcingelement 56 as required.

In one embodiment, the end rails can be made of metal. With referencenow to FIG. 13, an end rail 80 made of metal can include a pocket or“channel” 81 defined by a pair of opposed flanges 82 and 83 which canaccommodate a front ply or skin 84 of a door. Such ply 84 is made of anextruded thermoplastic material. In one embodiment, and with referencenow to FIG. 14, the channel 82 can be formed in the end rail 80 bynotching a square shaped hole 86 cut only on three sides to form a tabto define a pocket-type channel. The pocket can be provided with acushion material 88 (FIG. 13), such as medium density rubber, to allowfor relative contraction and expansion between the thermoplastic panel84 and the metal end rail 80. The means for securing the end rail 80 tothe ply 84 is not illustrated in this embodiment, but can be along thelines of the several designs discussed previously.

Another embodiment of a sectional door is illustrated in FIG. 12. Inthis embodiment, an extruded thermoplastic outer ply or layer 90 has abottom edge 92 accommodated in a metal end rail 94. To this end, the endrail 94 includes a vertically oriented channel 96 defined on its outerend. As is evident from a comparison of FIGS. 11 and 12, the ply 90 canbe thinner than the ply 50, since the distal end of the end railencloses the lower edge of the panel, instead of being accommodated in aslot in the lower edge of the panel. It should be appreciated that inall of these designs, care must be taken to prevent water from becomingtrapped in the channel holding the lower edge of the panel. Therefore,in this embodiment, one cannot use vertically oriented grooves on thepanel, such as the grooves illustrated in FIG. 10. Another considerationfor all of the designs illustrated herein is that the relative movementor thermal expansion and contraction between any metal reinforcingmembers (top or bottom rails or reinforcing elements) and thethermoplastic plies of the door has to be accommodated in order to allowfor relatively free movement of the outside facing door ply or skin 13,52, 84 and 90 in the several embodiments illustrated herein.

With reference now to FIG. 15, another embodiment of a door design,among many others, according to the present disclosure is thereillustrated. In this embodiment, a door 100 includes a plurality ofpanels, such as panels 102, 104, 106, 108, wherein each of the panelshas a different outer surface design. For example, panel 102 is providedwith a plurality of windows 110. Panel 104 is provided with a pair ofgrooves 112 and 114 via routing. These grooves continue onto panels 106and 108 as well. A similar spaced pair of grooves 116 and 118 is alsoprovided. Together, the two sets of grooves form two Xs on the outersurface of the door 100. Dividing the two Xs from each other are a pairof vertically oriented parallel grooves 120 and 122. Located on thesecan be handles 124 (or designs which appear to be handles). The overallappearance of the outer surface of the door is, therefore, that of acarriage door. Note that an outer “framing” set of grooves 126 can alsobe provided, to frame the entire door. The outer surface of each panel102-108 can be formed by suitable milling or routing into the outerthermoplastic ply of each panel of the door. Any desired design can beformed in the outer ply of each panel by suitably programming therouter.

Alternatively, the various designs on the door 100 can be formed byoverlay strips (which can be made of the same thermoplastic as the outerply or skin of each panel 102-108) which can be adhesively secured tothe outer ply. While this would produce a more realistic design effectthan routing grooves into the skin or outer ply of each panel, it wouldbe at a cost. Such a design would be much more time consuming and resultin a heavier weight door. As an alternative to the foregoing, it is alsoconceivable to sell a sectional door with a smooth outer surface andprovide on the inside surface of the sectional door a template whichwould enable a homeowner, or after sale installer, to add overlay stripsto the outer surface of the door, by securing them via fastenersextending from the inner surface of the door (at the locations indicatedby the template) through the skin layer and into the overlay strips. Inthis way, the fasteners would not be visible on the outer surface of thedoor. It should be appreciated that adhesive could also be used togetherwith, or in place of, fasteners.

In fact, one can envision the sale of kits which have the necessarytemplate for each panel of the door and the various components or stripswhich are to be added or secured in place to the outer panel surfaces ofthe sectional door. Once a homeowner has decided to redecorate the outersurface of his or her sectional door, they would shop for a design.Having bought the desired design, they would secure the templates inplace on the back side of each panel of the door and secure thenecessary overlay strips via fasteners extending through the panel atthe locations indicated by the template. Perhaps decorative hardwarecould be secured to the front surface of the door in the same manner.This, then, would give the homeowner a different look to their sectionaldoor, such as a garage door. Many such overlay strip designs andtemplates could be produced, thereby giving the homeowner a wide choiceof possible designs.

With reference now to FIG. 16, a further embodiment of the door 130 isthere illustrated. In this embodiment, the door comprises a plurality ofpanels 132, 134, 136, 138. Again, each panel has a somewhat differentdesign but the overall design is that of another version of a carriagetype door. Located on each panel is at least one strip 140. Moreover,located on each panel is a plurality of horizontally extending grooves142. As with the design of FIG. 15, the surface pattern on each panelcan be accomplished by forming the outer surface via routing or thelike.

A process of manufacturing such a thermoplastic door from, for example,extruded PVC panels in a continuous manufacturing process includesextruding cellular PVC door panels which can be anywhere from 18 inches(45.72 cm) to 24 inches (61 cm) wide, for example, in order to form theouter ply of each panel of the door. The ply can be on the order of ⅜inches (0.95 cm) thick. These would then be cut to the desired size. Theouter ply or skin can be placed manually or automatically at thebeginning of a continuous process where a PVC cement or the likeadhesive is applied to the top perimeter of the sheet forming an innersurface of the door. A sash frame made of the same extruded cellular PVCmaterial (which can be on the order of 1 inch (2.54 cm) thick) can bepreassembled (such as by cementing or fastening the various componentstogether) and cemented by a known PVC cement to the door panel sheet.

With reference now to FIG. 17, one process for manufacturing a doorpanel according to the present disclosure includes ripping or cuttingrails from a larger sheet of thermoplastic material (after one or moresheets of ply has been formed, such as by extrusion) as shown at step150. An exterior surface of outer layer, ply or skin would be placedfacing downwardly with the interior surface of the several rails (madeof extruded cellular PVC material and cut to the desired size) of thesash frame facing upward. However, this can be reversed so as to havethe exterior surface of panel facing upwardly. To do this, a jig may berequired to position the rails so that the panel will be placed on topof the glued sash frame without having the sash frame misaligned withthe panel. This would take place at step 152. The panel can be gluedmanually or automatically to the sash frame. The cemented frame isplaced on the cemented sheet. Any necessary metal reinforcing elements(see FIG. 3) can be then secured to the sash by means of fasteners andslotted holes, with the exception of the reinforcement 26 of FIG. 3.

A linear motion hold down clamping system is then activated on bothsides of the panel and feeds the panel while it is being cured. Thus,the door panel so formed can be fed through a continuous moving holddown press as illustrated in step 154, at a desired speed. That speedcan be approximately 4 feet per minute (1.2 m/s), or any other suitablespeed. The panels will then be fed at a set speed into a shaping androuting station, as illustrated at step 156. At the same time, groovescan be routed into the outer surface of the panel. For example, designs,such as illustrated in FIGS. 8-10, or a door design such as isillustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16 can be formed in the panel. The designwill be programmed via a computer, such as a PLC. The edges of the panelcan be shaped according to the type of joint selected. FIGS. 4 a-4 dshow several different types of joints and FIG. 3 shows a furtherembodiment.

A programmable CNC router can be employed to rout a specific chosenprogram design on the panel from underneath. An electronic monitor canbe used so that manufacturing personnel can view the design being routedonto the panel as it moves in the process. A side cutter can be employedto shape the desired specific joint shape (as is shown in FIGS. 4 a-4 d,for example). Ribs and grooves can also be routed into the panel at thesame time as the sides of the panel are being shaped. If additionalrouting is desired, then additional routing of the material can takeplace to complete the design, i.e., such as with vertical grooves, as atstep 158. As the panel exits the continuous process extrusion line, thedoor panel is considered to be completed unless it requires paintingwith a different color than the original color of the thermoplasticmaterial, such the extruded cellular PVC discussed herein.

The PLC can be programmed so as to rout or engrave different patterns ineach of the panels (as in FIGS. 15 and 16) so that when all the panelsare put together, they will form the selected design. The type ofpattern can look like an overlay. However, an add on or an overlay strip(not shown) of the same material can be applied over a plain graphic togive a raised effect. The overlay can also be of a different color whenthe ply contains an impregnated solid color, such as beige or almond.The extruded cellular PVC sheet is normally available in a white color.However, two other colors are available, namely, almond or beige andsand tone. These colors can be impregnated so that the entire thicknessof the PVC sheet is the desired color. Moreover, the outer ply of thepanel can be painted with an ultraviolet protective coating in order tolessen harm to the thermoplastic material of the door due to sunexposure.

For example, a white strip can be employed over a beige or sandstonecolor door. Such add-ons can be applied at a later date in the field bythe home owner or a handyman fastening or gluing a strip of material onthe outside of the door panels. These add-ons or overlays can be madefrom a strip of material (which can be on the order of ¼ inch or ⅜ inchthick (0.635-0.953 cm) ply). As mentioned, such material can be glued ormechanically fastened from the inside of the panel using fasteners, suchas screws. To aid in such fastening, a printed center line can be madeby the PLC on the interior surface of the panel to aid in securing oneor more additional layers or plies of material to the outer surface ofthe door. At the routing station discussed in step 164, the necessarycycles are completed.

Then it is determined whether painting of the door panel is necessary atstep 160. If so, it can be conducted as at step 162. The panel is thenfed to a paint drying area, as at step 164. With continued reference toFIG. 17, after painting or if no painting is needed, the material can bedelivered to the process stage where the reinforcing material isinstalled at step 166. At this time, a suitable window, such as 134shown in FIG. 15, can also be installed in one or more of the panels ofthe door. Also, the necessary hardware, such as, e.g., brackets forholding rollers or the hinges illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, can beinstalled. Moreover, handles, such as at 124, can be secured to theouter face of a panel. As mentioned, at least some of the reinforcingelements can be secured to the sash frame before it is secured to theouter ply at step 152. Thus, the reinforcing members can be placed onthe lateral rails of the sash frame at the beginning of the assemblyprocess before the sash frame is cemented to the panel or thereafter asthe panel exits the process and before it is assembled to the remainingpanels to form the door. When the panel is finished, it along with otherpanels, can be packaged, as at step 168.

The door panels made from extruded cellular PVC do not requireconventional manufacturing techniques, nor do they require overlays.Rather, conventional routing devices can be used to create any desireddesign with ease and in a much less costly manner. For example, acomputer numerically controlled (CNC) router or other similar router maybe used to engrave a design on the exterior surface of the panel.Alternatively, multiple routers may be used together. In this regard,such routers are programmable to create the desired design to suit panelwidth and height. For ribbed designs, such features are generated in thesame manner and can be formed in the panel along with the routing of theweather joint features at the top and bottom edges of the panel.

In another embodiment, the thermoplastic material sheet of the panel canbe extruded in such a way as to have the lateral sides thereof extrudedin a specific shape for panels which can be mated to each other. Inother words, with such a design, there may not be any need tomechanically shape the top and bottom edges of the panel in the process.Such an extrusion would deliver a long strip of the desired panelheight. Then, the panels would be cut to the desired width.

The disclosed method of manufacturing and the thermoplastic materialused are advantageous from the perspective that designs can beduplicated without the use of heavy and expensive equipment. Moreover,an unlimited number of designs and patterns can be obtained atrelatively little cost. This is possible because of the extrudedthermoplastic material, such as the cellular PVC discussed herein, andthe use of a fast curing adhesive. These enable a continuous manufactureof composite garage door panels having edges formed with the necessaryjoints in order to provide a weather tight seal between adjacent doorpanels. Thus, a relatively maintenance free sectional door panel withany desired pattern on its outer face is achieved in an advantageousmanner. This can be accomplished via a continuous manufacturing process.

The disclosure has been described with reference to the preferredembodiments. Modifications and alterations will occur to others uponreading and understanding this specification. It is intended to includeall such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within thescope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. A panel for a sectional door, comprising: an outer ply, comprising anextruded thermoplastic material, forming an outer face of the door; asash frame comprising a thermoplastic material; a means for securingsaid sash frame to said outer ply; and, wherein said outer ply and saidsash frame comprise thermoplastic materials which have substantially thesame rate of thermal expansion.
 2. The panel of claim 1 wherein thethermoplastic material for both said outer ply and said sash framecomprises an extruded cellular PVC material.
 3. The panel of claim 1wherein said means for securing comprises an adhesive.
 4. The panel ofclaim 1 wherein said means for securing comprises a fastener.
 5. Thepanel of claim 1 further comprising a reinforcing member connected tosaid sash frame.
 6. The panel of claim 5 wherein said reinforcing membercomprises a metal.
 7. The panel of claim 6 further comprising a meansfor securing said reinforcing member to said sash frame whichaccommodates differential rates of thermal expansion between saidreinforcing member and said sash frame.
 8. The panel of claim 7 whereinsaid means for securing comprises an elongated aperture located in saidreinforcing member and a fastener extending through said elongatedaperture and into said sash frame.
 9. The panel of claim 6 wherein themetallic reinforcing member includes a flange which cooperates with saidouter ply.
 10. The panel of claim 9 wherein said flange is accommodatedin a groove of said outer ply.
 11. The panel of claim 9 wherein saidflange contacts an edge of said outer ply.
 12. The panel of claim 6wherein said reinforcing member includes a channel for accommodating anedge of said outer ply.
 13. The panel of claim 1 further comprising alayer of insulating material positioned between said outer ply and saidsash frame.
 14. The panel of claim 1 further comprising an inside skinlayer positioned between said outer ply and said sash frame.
 15. Thepanel of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material of said outer ply isso chosen that it can be worked by routing or milling to impart adesired design thereinto.
 16. The panel of claim 1 wherein said sashframe is thicker than said outer ply.
 17. The panel of claim 1 furthercomprising a hinge mounted to said sash frame, to enable the panel to besecured to another panel of the sectional door.
 18. A method ofmanufacturing a panel for a sectional door, comprising: a) providing anouter ply of an extruded thermoplastic material; b) providing a sashframe of the same thermoplastic material; c) securing the sash frame tothe outer ply; and, d) forming a desired design in an outer surface ofthe outer ply.
 19. The method of claim 18 further comprising securing areinforcing member to the sash frame.
 20. The method of claim 18 furthercomprising forming a desired edge shape on the panel.
 21. The method ofclaim 18 wherein steps a)-d) are performed in a continuous manufacturingprocess.
 22. The method of claim 18 wherein step d) is performed viarouting of the outer ply.